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Banality
Banality Or, "The Dying Light of Magick in the World" Banality is disbelief, pure and simple — disbelief in what people cannot see and hear, disbelief in magic, monsters and faeries. Disbelief in the extraordinary. It happens when people are so certain in their belief about what the world 'is' that they no longer believe in what 'might be'. This may seem a trivial thing, but remember that Hope and Faith are not products of knowledge, but of imagination and the possibility that something bigger and more than what we can see with our eyes is out there. The certainty that the world is what it is, that it's all logical and explainable, is the root of what stamps out of individuality and whim. That disbelief kills creativity and denies that anything exists beyond what is evident. Intended to insulate mortals from the terrors of the World of Darkness, Banality erases beauty and vibrancy and dulls fears. Just as humanity's beliefs and dreams created the Dreaming, its disbelief shattered the magic, ripping the Dreaming apart from the mundane world. That same deadening force continues to plague changelings. It can erode a changeling's sense of her fae soul, and harm those objects and creatures made from Glamour, sometimes destroying them altogether. Effects of Banality * If a character's temporary Banality ever exceeds their permanent Glamour score, they begin to feel uneasy, worn down, and fatigue. If it ever exceeds their permanent Glamour + their permanent willpower, this fatigue worsens and prevents them from spending temporary willpower on actions. * When one of the Kithain attempts to affect a target with a cantrip, the target's Banality will affect the chance of success. The higher the target's Banality, the higher difficulty * Beings that have a Banality rating of 8 or higher actually physically affect changelings. The Kithain may become nauseous, experience headaches, or just get very edgy and belligerent. This occurs especially if the changeling spends any time in the company of high Banality people, and gets progressively worse the longer the changeling stays. As a general rule, normal mortals and others with ratings of 7 or lower, do not have this effect. Gaining Banality There are many scenarios that may inflict Banality on a being. Refer here for a list of the most common examples of what might cause a character to gain temporary points. Mitigating & Getting Rid of Banality There are a handful of ways that a Changeling might try to limit the amount of temporary Banality that they gain, and how to rid themselves of it once they do. Refer here for more details on each of the following, but they basically break down to either preventing the exposure to banal people and things in the first place, or using their Glamour to offset the harm into short term hindrances to themselves or their magics. Once the grip of Banality has taken hold on a Kithain, however, there are still ways to recover. The most obvious is to retreat from the Banality of the Autumn world and recover, but embracing the power of legend and their own faerie nature can lead them on Quests to offset it as well. Faerie characters with high Banality suffer growing penalties and hinderances. See here for the effects of a High permanent Banality rating. Also, for Mortals with extreme banality ratings, see Autumn People. See here for the effects of high banality people upon Chimera.